Cal cemented its reputation as an internationally acclaimed university
tonight as the Bears basketball team was rescued by two of its foreign-born players. Amit
Tamir's three pointer with less than four seconds left allowed his overseas counterpart
Richard Midgley to deliver the OT heroics as Cal held off a pesky USF squad 77 to 70.

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Cal cemented its reputation as an internationally acclaimed university
tonight as the Bears basketball team was rescued by two of its foreign-born players. Amit
Tamir's three pointer with less than four seconds left allowed his overseas counterpart
Richard Midgley to deliver the OT heroics as Cal held off a pesky USF squad 77 to 70. ">

Cal Bears down USF in overtime, 77-70

Greg Richardson, <i>CalHoopFan</i> <BR>Staff Writer

12/30/2002

<p class="txt">Cal cemented its reputation as an internationally acclaimed university
tonight as the Bears basketball team was rescued by two of its foreign-born players. Amit
Tamir's three pointer with less than four seconds left allowed his overseas counterpart
Richard Midgley to deliver the OT heroics as Cal held off a pesky USF squad 77 to 70. </p>

Apparently the Bears lost more than a game on Saturday in Oakland. They
at-least temporarily lost their confidence as well. Kate Moss' chest isn't as flat as Cal
came out tonight, allowing the Dons to post an early 13-1 lead at Haas Pavilion. Once
again, the Bears gave their opponents PG a resume building performance. After Aaron Miles
went for his career high on Saturday, USF's Jason Gaines dominated all night long
finishing with 10 assists to go along with NO turnovers. One can almost see the drool on
Julius Barnes lips in anticipation of Saturday's contest in Berkeley.

Amit Tamir single-handedly kept Cal in the game tonight. After
missing a couple of point blank finishes early in the game, I was concerned that Amit
would revert to a high-post passer as he did last season when he couldn't get his shot to
fall. This year's version of Amit is made of sterner stuff. He showed off an array
of outside jumpers, baseline fadeaways and drop-step moves in the lane to become almost
unstoppable in the second half. When the Bears absolutely, positively had to have a
basket, it was Tamir whose number was called. Amit finished with 26 points, while
Cal's PG woes continued as neither AJ Diggs nor Richard Midgley had much luck running the
Bears offense. Sloppy ball handling and mental mistakes have become as consistent this
season for Cal as defense was last year. Without a floor general to manage the team,
Wethers and Shipp are trying to do too much - - - and transition baskets and back-door
plays have gone the way of the Dodo bird. Speaking of Brian, his offensive hangover
continued from Saturday as he struggled mightily all game until hitting a clutch 3 pointer
to open OT. Shipp was steady, scoring 20 points, but was not able to answer the call when
the Bears trailed late.

It was a strange game for Cal's freshman class. With Conor Famulener
sidelined with back spasms and USF going with a smaller and quicker lineup, David Paris,
Richard Midgley and Erik Bond all saw their most extensive action of the season. Until
overtime, the three looked as out-of-sorts as Trent Lott at a Black Panthers meeting.
After a quick jump hook to begin his game, Paris struggled defensively with two key mental
breakdowns leading to easy Don buckets. Erik Bond couldn't get his shot to fall and
otherwise was a non-factor. After Cal's offense began the game in neutral, Richard
Midgley was handed the keys to the car. Unfortunately, he was ineffective running
the point, forcing turnovers and repeatedly getting beat on defense. Richard saved
his classmates pride, however, as he acquitted himself quite well down the stretch,
sliding over to play the two guard spot. "A whirling dervish" would be the best
way to describe Midgley's forays to the hoops in OT. Consistently able to split the
USF defense and finish with both hands, Richard sent one shot up blind as he spun
backwards to the hoop. A kiss off the glass and it was all net. That shot
proved to be the difference maker as the Bears hit their FTs to cinch the victory. Richard
finished with a career-high 16 points.

As expected, USF put up a hell of a fight. The Dons are athletic, playing a
tougher brand of defense than the home team and never backed down, despite having Cal turn
their early 12 point lead into a seven point second half deficit. The Bears open Pac-10
play this weekend and Ben Braun faces perhaps his most daunting challenge yet as Cal's
coach. Without a point guard, without consistent post play, and most importantly without
the trademark brand of defense for which the Bears have become known, Cal faces an uphill
climb to make it three in a row to the dance.

Apparently the Bears lost more than a game on Saturday in Oakland. They at-least temporarily lost their confidence as well. Kate Moss' chest isn't as flat as Cal came out tonight, allowing the Dons to post an early 13-1 lead at Haas Pavilion. Once again, the Bears gave their opponents PG a resume building performance. After Aaron Miles went for his career high on Saturday, USF's Jason Gaines dominated all night long finishing with 10 assists to go along with NO turnovers. One can almost see the drool on Julius Barnes lips in anticipation of Saturday's contest in Berkeley.

Amit Tamir single-handedly kept Cal in the game tonight. After missing a couple of point blank finishes early in the game, I was concerned that Amit would revert to a high-post passer as he did last season when he couldn't get his shot to fall. This year's version of Amit is made of sterner stuff. He showed off an array of outside jumpers, baseline fadeaways and drop-step moves in the lane to become almost unstoppable in the second half. When the Bears absolutely, positively had to have a basket, it was Tamir whose number was called. Amit finished with 26 points, while Cal's PG woes continued as neither AJ Diggs nor Richard Midgley had much luck running the Bears offense. Sloppy ball handling and mental mistakes have become as consistent this season for Cal as defense was last year. Without a floor general to manage the team, Wethers and Shipp are trying to do too much - - - and transition baskets and back-door plays have gone the way of the Dodo bird. Speaking of Brian, his offensive hangover continued from Saturday as he struggled mightily all game until hitting a clutch 3 pointer to open OT. Shipp was steady, scoring 20 points, but was not able to answer the call when the Bears trailed late.

It was a strange game for Cal's freshman class. With Conor Famulener sidelined with back spasms and USF going with a smaller and quicker lineup, David Paris, Richard Midgley and Erik Bond all saw their most extensive action of the season. Until overtime, the three looked as out-of-sorts as Trent Lott at a Black Panthers meeting. After a quick jump hook to begin his game, Paris struggled defensively with two key mental breakdowns leading to easy Don buckets. Erik Bond couldn't get his shot to fall and otherwise was a non-factor. After Cal's offense began the game in neutral, Richard Midgley was handed the keys to the car. Unfortunately, he was ineffective running the point, forcing turnovers and repeatedly getting beat on defense. Richard saved his classmates pride, however, as he acquitted himself quite well down the stretch, sliding over to play the two guard spot. \"A whirling dervish\" would be the best way to describe Midgley's forays to the hoops in OT. Consistently able to split the USF defense and finish with both hands, Richard sent one shot up blind as he spun backwards to the hoop. A kiss off the glass and it was all net. That shot proved to be the difference maker as the Bears hit their FTs to cinch the victory. Richard finished with a career-high 16 points.

As expected, USF put up a hell of a fight. The Dons are athletic, playing a tougher brand of defense than the home team and never backed down, despite having Cal turn their early 12 point lead into a seven point second half deficit. The Bears open Pac-10 play this weekend and Ben Braun faces perhaps his most daunting challenge yet as Cal's coach. Without a point guard, without consistent post play, and most importantly without the trademark brand of defense for which the Bears have become known, Cal faces an uphill climb to make it three in a row to the dance.